


Healing a Heart

by AAVasconcelo



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-21 11:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14914674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAVasconcelo/pseuds/AAVasconcelo
Summary: After everything they have been through Lucy and Wyatt where as distant as they could be. However, will that continue when a life is hanging by a tread?Post season 2Rufus is back and pretty much alive.





	1. Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and please feel free to leave any comments and suggestions.  
> This is my first fic about this amazing show and I already apologize for any mistakes.  
> Also, #RenewTimeless #season3

It was no surprise for Wyatt to find Garcia Flynn and Lucy Preston sitting in the metal chairs at thekitchen, talking like nobody was watching or hearing. Since their return from the year 2023, after they saved Rufus and brought back the happiness of their little family they call team, things just started to return to a “normal” pace.

Meeting the future Wyatt and Lucy brought the team a new perspective of the possibility of time traveling and also a major responsibility in keeping it a top secret. If any of the members of Rittenhouse found out about it they could end up in an irreversible situation.

Since Emma and Jessica assumed the leadership, the missions started to be more spaced, one in every three weeks, but much more violent and dangerous. If there was one term that defined Emma, it was brutal. Denise even brought some doctors into the bunker and decided to put together a little hospital so they didn’t need to be moved out, only in cases of surgery or something like that. Thankfully non of it had been necessary yet and the agent was more than happy with it. She became a mother from that bunch of grown up children. She was their mentor. Even for Mason who, despite the advanced age and being the founder of a damn company, couldn’t handle open a bottle of olives.

With a lot more of free time to upgrade the life-boat and to prepare for the missions, the team tended to grow closer and to spend more time together. Jiya and Rufus were all flowers and cupcakes with each other, which made Wyatt a frequent resident of the couch, but it was the least he could do for his best friend.

Rufus was that kind of person who grows in your heart and you simply can’t take off. His friendship was one of the most valuable things Wyatt had in his life and he was so glad that, after everything, Rufus was capable to forgive him. 

Mason always tried his best to be close to Wyatt but, honestly, they don’t have that much in common; still, whenever you need a drink or to hear some louse jokes just call Mason, he will do the job. 

In general, all of his teammates where busy with something, repairing something or filing paperwork. He, was just healing from his bruises. And Lucy? Well, she was moving on.

And he couldn’t blame her.

After their future versions appeared, Wyatt and Lucy had to deal with meeting them but not being able to know anything. Every single information could lead to a different future and seemed like their old versions weren’t interested in that, only in bringing Rufus back and, of course, destroying Rittenhouse from the core.

They also left some advise for their younger versions. Wyatt never knew what Lucy heard but his advice was only one: let time heal all wounds, be gentle, be present and protect her.

That was it. No instruction, no manuals on how to fix things. He had broken the most precious thing in his life and didn’t have a clue in how to put it all back together.

Apparently Flynn had a bit more of touch to deal with the situation, after all, even though he committed horrible things, somehow, he touched Lucy in a way Wyatt didn’t and, now, their friendship was growing more and more while he was being put aside day after day.

But, again, he wouldn’t blame her for anything. He deserved it, all of it.

He messed up things, pretty bad, was tricked by his past, by Rittenhouse, by himself. If he could just take the life-boat and travel back he would, but, after his attempt to do that in order to save Jessica, which lead them to the bunker to begin with (another fault to put in his account), Denise would never let him, so, it was up to him to deal with his problems and it’s consequences.

He wouldn’t lie, it hurts. Seeing what he just lost because of his obviousness and stupidity. Of course Lucy deserves a better man than him, a man who wouldn’t hurt her, a man who will be there always, a man who doesn’t break his promises.

He had lost her, and he would never forgive himself for it. He may has loved Jessica, but what he felt was much more compensated guilt for his actions than love for her. The feeling about Lucy was different. When it comes to Lucy it was all about pure love invading and destroying his heart. She was the shivers down his spine, the reason why he wakes up in the morning, the reason why he fights. Lucy was his happiness and his light.

Lucy was everything.

But she’s gone.

And when he passed trough her and Flynn to get some coffee she didn’t notice him, or when he sat on the couch (now his new bed) and turned on the TV and started to watch one of her favorite movies she didn’t come and sat beside him like she used to.

Things were different, and it felt much harder to fulfill the future Wyatt’s wishes and advises. He was lost and drowning, in a ocean he didn’t know he would be able to escape.

So Wyatt drank his coffee, contemplated the TV for a while. The sound of the siren screaming, alerting the team that the mother-ship had jumped put him in his feet and out of his scorching thoughts.

_______________________________________________________

It was a trap, and they fell for it.

The team was hiding behind some trees, near the life-boat, waiting for Emma and her helpers to come. They had decided to attract her there in a attempt to kill her. In other times that would put a look of completely horror in Lucy’s face but now, after everything she had been through, after everything Emma had done to those Lucy loves, she was willing to let that redhead die.

Rufus was at the back, beside Lucy. He was with a blanc stare, lost in some kind of thought. It was a common thing since his return. The team guessed that, after being brought from the dead your perspectives and all you know is changed and, somehow that was his way to deal with it.

At the front, forming a barrier was Wyatt and Flynn. The blue eyed guy was with his rifle all prepared and positioned, ready to shoot, ready to do the job. Flynn was mute, a strange thing for a man who always had some sarcastic comment at the tip of his tongue.

The tension was touchable and the air felt heavier, dense, thick.

They had jumped to 1975, end of the Vietnam War and where ambushed by Emma’s sleep agent. The fight seemed endless and at some points Wyatt wanted to call for mercy and just stay there, lying on the floor. But each time he caught a glimpse of Lucy he was reminded of who he was fighting for, so he would put himself together and back to action. He had bruises all over his torso and probably some 2 broken ribs. He could feel the purple marks forming alongside his arms and the dried blood in his mouth when the sleep agent managed to hit him on the jaw. Flynn had a cut lip and some cuts in his arms due a knife’s attack, credites to Emma and her ability with blades.

Wyatt had put himself on the line, willing to die for his friends. Rufus was somewhere stealing a car and planing their escape. Thanks to the life-boat pilot they escaped before Flynn could be shot. Along the way they decide to put an end on all that war. Killing Emma meant destroy Rittenhouse by it’s top, the rest would all crumble apart.

Meanwhile, Lucy had Flynn by her side the entire time, either to talk or to hide behind. Wyatt watched from distance his place in her life being fulfilled by someone else. Grace was right. The more he tried to get close the more she would push him away. It was a sick dance he couldn’t end with. Flynn had became her protector and it was gone the little chance Wyatt had to be in Lucy’s life.

But, even though Flynn was an excellent fighter and shooter, there were some little things he could never know. Things only a soldier was capable to do.

Wyatt had developed skill that Flynn didn’t, during his time in the Delta Force. He could calculate a bullet’s trajectory by feeling the wind and could identify a gun only by it’s sound. He could survive days without food and water and could hide for more than a month. Besides, he could tell when his enemy was hiding and when he or she would take the shoot.

That’s why, when all the team thought it was safe to return to the life-boat, guessing their plan had failed and Emma had decided to postpone their little war, Wyatt heard and saw the tree sharp shoots coming into Lucy’s direction.

Without hesitating for even a second he jumped in front of her, shielding her body with his own. He managed, along the way, to push Rufus, who was right behind Lucy, and Flynn ran to shoot Emma back. He protected himself, hiding behind a big oak and shoot fearless at his enemy, hitting her leg and arm but she was able to escape anyways.

With a loud thud Wyatt was on the ground. The bullets didn’t go through his skin, but lodged themselves inside his body. Rufus froze in his place, not able to speak, not able to do anything. Just staring at his best friend bleed. For the entire time they were hidden Rufus was lost in his own world but as the scarlet liquid started to float from Wyatt’s abdomen he was back to reality, a horrible one.

"Wyatt! Wyatt! No! Please no!"

Lucy was down to the ground. Her caramel dress, ripped from the previous fight, was now covered in blood. Wyatt’s blood. She placed his head on her lap, pushing his hair away from his eyes. From a brief moment she just starred at him. It were seconds that felt like an eternity and everything unspoken was being said thought her eyes. She then rushed to put pressure on his wounds. The three holes were deep and it was hard to know witch one was bleeding the most.

"We have to move him now!"

"But, he has lost a lot of blood, I don’t think…"

"I don’t care what you think Rufus, just do something! Help!"

Lucy wasn’t thinking or measuring her words, far less caring if she had hurt anyone’s feelings. All she could see was red puds of blood in her dress and a more and more pale Wyatt.

"Come on Rufus, help me take him to the life boat."

Flynn picked Wyatt by his arms while Rufus carried his legs. As quick as they could they put him inside the life boat, not caring about buckling him. Lucy sat on the ground beside him, trying to do the best she could.

The air started to smell like iron and she could feel the metallic taste mixed with the salt of her tears.

"Lucy won’t you buckle…"

"Just go Rufus!"

The man didn’t dare look behind. 

Maybe Lucy would regret her words later but, to be honest, she didn’t mind. Something inside her was dying as the blood was vanishing from Wyatt’s veins. She kept starring at his eyes, the usually deep blue almost transparent now and at each second she could see it was getting harder and harder for him to keep them open.

"Lucy."

"Wyatt?" - she laid down her head, hearing his almost inaudible voice. Rough and weak. - "Just hold on, we’re going to take you home."

"Lucy."

"Please Wyatt. Just…"

"I’m sorry. "

"Wyatt don’t…not now…not here."

"You’re the reason why I fight. I’m sorry."

"No! Don’t you dare Logan! Don’t you dare do this to me! Not again!"

"I love you Lucy."

With a fast and sicking motion they were back to the bunker in seconds. Lucy holding Wyatt’s hand.Flynn was out in a rush the second they landed.

"Wyatt needs a doctor now!"

Agent Christopher felt her entire body tense under Flynn’s tone of voice. She was used to their urge for doctors, for broken arms and some stitches. But this time she knew it was much worse than a bruised face.

In seconds three doctors appeared. They helped Flynn take Wyatt out of the life boat. Jiya was watching all that with a panicked expression mirrored in Rufus’ face.

"Three shoots in the abdomen. Lost a lot of blood. The bullets are still there." - Flynn managed so say before the doctors took Wyatt. 

Lucy ran after them. They had put the soldier in a stretcher and ran to the little hospital room in the bunker.

"Ma’am you need to stay here."

"Do not ma’am me! I’m coming!"

"Ma’am, I’m afraid …"

"I DON’T CARE! I need to go with him! I need…"

"Lucy! Let them go _."_  - Denise had approached Lucy and was with her arms around the historian’s shoulders.

"I…I can’t …I… _"_ \- and before she could end her sentence, big tears were falling down her cheeks and she was sobbing deeply. Denise put the girl in a tight hug, stroking her hair, like a mother does when her kid crawls at her bed in the middle of the night because of a bad dream. - "I can’t lose him."

"Lucy…"

"Please, don’t let him… please…"

"I’m sure the doctor are doing the best they can. I’m gonna check on them okay? Can you wait here for a while?"

Lucy nodded even though she didn’t understand much of what the agent had said. In her mind was stuck the image of Wyatt’s eyes and his damn words.

"Damn it Wyatt. Why?"

Flynn came closer, trying to embrace her but she just stormed out and in that moment he knew that, no matter how much he tried or whatever he said she would never love him the way she loves Wyatt. The look she had in her eyes was the same his wife had on him each time he came back home, escaping death by an inch.

 ____ 

Lucy ran to their shared bathroom, closing the door behind her and putting a chair under the doorknob. Slowly she slid through the metal walls until she hit the ground. For the first time she realized the thick stains of blood in her dress. Wyatt’s blood. Her hands covered in dried blood as well. Suddenly she felt disgusting and the smell in the air was suffocating her. The walls started to close in and she felt her breathing increases and her heart beat faster than it should. She had to cool down, it wasn’t time to have any panic attacks. Not there, not now.

Opening the shower Lucy heard the cold water start to run and she entered under it, fully dressed. A red colored water began to slipper for the drain and she was brushing hard her arms and hands, trying to get rid off the blood. She was terrified. A scream was stuck in her throat and she couldn’t tell how much was water and how much was tears running down her face. Sure she had seen people get shoot. She saw Abraham Lincoln being shoot in front of her. She had shot a man! But it was different.

Wyatt was different. 

It was a single second, just one, and her life was turned upside down.

All the time she calculated to spend away from him, all the effort she put in keep distance, all the days she avoided him, all the hugs and apologies she ignored.

_Damn Wyatt! Why?_

She closed the shower after all the blood was gone and spotted a pair of pants and a old T-shirt, that she had left in her locker inside the bathroom. Once changed, Lucy went out, looking for Denise.

Along the way , she ran through Wyatt’s shared room and entered without thinking twice.

All of Jessica’s things were long gone and most of Rufus’ stuff were spread around. Wyatt, on the other hand, was much more organized and his bed was impeccably made, his things packed and stored in the proper places.

It was funny to see the contrast between him and Lucy. Like a trained soldier he was, he had everything perfectly calculated, a special place for each one of his belongings and no man would believe in how clean he was. Lucy, however, was a mess, a hurricane inside a small room. Her things usually were spread all around. Clothes mixed with piles and piles of books, her shoes all shoved under the bed and you couldn’t find the clock in her night stand. Still, they managed to understand each other so Wyatt didn’t mind to often stop by her bedroom and drop the bottle of perfume she forgets every single time in the bathroom, after reminding her of how messy she was.

After she pushed him away from her life that drops by her room had stoped. The bottle of perfume was always outside her door in the morning, but it’s deliver guy stoped knocking to wish goodnight.

In that impeccable room there was only one thing out of place, though. An old hoodie he likes to use now and then. She had seen him with it a couple times, usually when he was sat on the  couch reading (or pretending to read, because most of the time he fell asleep in the process).

Her body was now inside the dark blue worn-out fabric and it felt like home. His smell impregnated and invading Lucy’s nose, brining at the same time comfort and pain in a rush. She wanted to sit in his bed and stay there, sinking in the warmth and comfort, lodging in the deformation that his strong body had left in the mattress, but she was afraid that by doing it she may never get up.

There were more urgent things. She had to know how he was and, this time, no doctor would stop her.

She went to their “hospital” to find Agent Christopher and Mason both in a low argue outside the room. By the way agent’s Christopher brows were curving, making a small wrinkle of concern in the middle of her forehead Lucy knew something was very wrong. Mason was cracking his fingers, a habit he has when his nerves gets the best out of him. All that stoped when she approached. Their faces were a mix of emotion, but empath were in their eyes and Lucy felt her stomach drop and a sicking motion stat to take over her body.

"How is he?"

"Lucy…"- Mason’s voice was gentle and that only scared the historian more. 

"What? Is he… "- she felt the tears coming and couldn’t hold it in. She didn’t want to, she was tired of fighting.

"No. But the situation is very critical. One of the bullets perforated his intestine and two lodged in the spleen.The doctors stabilized him and we are moving Wyatt to a hospital. He needs surgery. At least two, I believe. I’m sorry Lucy."

The tears begin to fell more and more, unnoticed to her.

"I’m going with you."

"No Lucy. Stay here, it’s too dangerous. If Rittenhouse finds out you’re…"

"I don’t care! I’m going. I can’t leave him Denise. I just can’t. This is all my fault."

"What?"

"He jumped in front of me. Emma was aiming to kill me. He saved my life." 

Denise stared at the historian and her red puffed eyes. How much she had cried since their arrival? It has been only an hour but it felt like years. Mason was watching all that in silence. He was never a good speaker, specially in delicate situations like that but he could put himself in Lucy’s shoes. He had lost Rufus, who was like a son to him no matter what. He knew the pain.

"Let her go Denise."

"But…"

"Are you aware of the consequences Lucy?"

"Yes."

"So let her go."

 _"_ I … _"_ \- Denise wasn’t comfortable with that decision. Her protective side was screaming for her to stop it but she knew that, despite all the distance Lucy had been keeping from Wyatt, deep down, she loved him, and there was no worst pain than a broken heart. - "Okay. But I can’t guarantee your safety. I’ll surly try but I just can’t assure you. They can come after you."

"So let they come. I don’t care anymore."

Denise would discuss if they were in a more favorable circumstance but, at that moment,there was no argument. Lucy was doped by the pain and the agent knew not coherent words could come out. Mason just gave an empath smile to Lucy and attempted to pat her shoulder but he was back to his mute state, too shocked to do such a thing. He had lost many people in his life to be capable to deal with another one.

The doctors left the room with a bloody Wyatt, wrapped in wires and manual machines. The tears transformed in silent sobs as Lucy followed them. Over their shoulders she was trying to get a glimpse of him but they were far taller than her. Even so she kept trying and managed to put herself beside him, following the doctors to the bunker’s exit.

Jiya and Rufus came in time to receive the news and to take a glimpse of Wyatt before he left. Flynn, though, came into Lucy’s direction and, without warning put the woman in a quick hug, whispering I’m sorry in her ear.

Different from the apology said from Wyatt before, this one was filled with less significancy but with much empath. She gave him small smile, the type of smile very known by Flynn, the one that says goodbye, not only physically but emotionally too.

They could be friends but Flynn knew that, once she was gone trough that doors with Wyatt all his chances were long gone. Honestly he knew he never had one.

Lucy always loved Wyatt and the soldier felt the same way.

So Flynn joined the rest of the team and watched Lucy disappear trough the door with the love of her life with it’s life hanging by a tread.

 

 


	2. Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for take so long to post but I got time to write two chaps! Here they iare! Thank you so much for commenting and leaving kudos! I love you guys! Please, as always, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions! Have an amazing day and hope you enjoy this cuties!

The hospital was crowded and nurses were coming and going faster than the tired eyes of Lucy could keep up with. The smell of disinfectant and antiseptic weren’t bothering anymore. After being almost 8 hours under it’s awful fragrance you get used with.

 

Lucy had been on the 4th floor waiting room since the doctor took Wyatt, or now known as Mike, Mike Johnson. A 45 years old man admitted after a heart attack, under surgery to put stents. 

She was Alice Johnson, 43.

They would never let her stay there if they weren’t related somehow. 

What a irony, wasn’t it? Being married to someone you didn’t even get the chance to love.

He was under surgery. Contain the bleeding. Repair the intestine. Try to save the spleen. The doctor appeared to inform her about his condition 3 hours ago. 

Only part of the crew taking care of him knew the truth, the four doctors and six nurses. 

Lucy knew in her heart Wyatt was bad, really bad. She may not be a doctor and may not have that much knowledge in the medical area but she saw the look on the nurses eyes whenever they passed trough her, the way they whispered to each other with a pity look in their eyes. The chances of him getting through were minimal, even though the doctors had promised her they would do everything in their power to save her husband. 

His life was hanging by a thread and she wasn’t sure if it was strong enough.

Denise had set disguised agents to keep an eye on her and Wyatt, to maintain Rittenhouse away or to fight them in case they were discovered. She could see their glimpses over sunglasses and magazines. It was, at least, annoying but Lucy couldn’t ditch them. It would blow the cover and drive Denise’s mind crazy. So, she just accepted.  

A quick glimpse of the bottle of vodka hidden under her bed crossed her mind. It had been almost 3 months since she didn’t touch it nor remembered it. It was a stupid move start to drink, Lucy knew it. It was always a bad idea overcome your sorrow in liquor and she never thought she would do it but, when the pain was unbearable, it was kind of a bandage over the bleeding wound.

She had lost count of how many times, before they have saved Rufus, she found herself leading to the bottle, late at night, thinking that would bring her comfort. And, when she found the hidden place where Mason kept his boozes, she felt relived. It was a comfort for a woman who was depending on the last few drops of alcohol she was trying to make last. Gladly someone brought her  back to her sense.  

Wyatt.

The cause of her drinking in the first place. The man who was drunk when they first met. The man who could drink bottles of whiskey without feeling tipsy. 

But also the man who quit drinking after their first mission. The man who put the bottle aside because of her. The man who appeared in the middle of the night countless times to hold her hair while she was trowing up, and would put her in the bed after she passed out without saying a word. 

The man who grabbed the bottle of vodka out from her hands, threw it away and said she was better than that and, if she should blame anyone, that would be him and not herself. 

It was the first time she ever punched someone. It felt good. She left a purple mark in his right arm and realized she was stronger than she thought.

Lucy never touched a bottle again. She actually forgot about Mason’s secret adage or the vodka under her bed. But, as Wyatt’s blank stared passed trough her head, the urge to feel the alcohol burn her throat pulsed. 

But Wyatt would never forgive her if she did it. 

He had shown her she was better than she could ever realize for herself. 

Damn Wyatt! Why?

How would she move on without him? How would ….

She didn’t want to…to move on. She didn’t want to live a life he wasn’t there. She knew, deep down, she could, indeed, live a life where Wyatt Logan wasn’t a reality, but she just didn’t want to. 

They had hurt themselves. They had been reckless and stupid. They had hated each other. They had ignored each other. 

But he loves her.

And she loves him.

Being honest, Lucy had found in her heart space to forgive Wyatt, in fact she already was going through the process of forgiveness, but her pride kept her from showing it. Part of her wanted him to suffer a little, to realize she wasn’t that easy to conquer. But she also knew that Wyatt believed she was good enough to forgive him.

She feared that he would never forgive himself.  
He was the type of guy who mourns over guilt and that terrified her. Because Lucy knew how deep Wyatt could get and how hard that could hit him. 

Lucy was so deepened in her thoughts that she didn’t realize how hard she was griping the chair until a soft hand touched hers and put her out of her trance.

It was a elder lady, probably in her 70’s. Her hair was snow white and pulled up in a firm bun. Her floral dress was giving her a summer look, like she just had come from the beach although the sky outside was announcing a big storm coming. She looked nice. 

“Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Oh! I…I’m…sorry.”

“First time in one of those?” 

The lady pointed to the chairs they were siting in. Lucy nodded in agreement. Inside she just hoped it would be the first and last time. 

“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, will happen. I promise you that, after the 12th hour, this place grows in you and stops looking that hideous.”

  Lucy gave her a small smile, feeling a bit lighter since the first time she stepped into that hospital. 

“I’m Abigail West, but everyone calls me Gail.” 

She stretched out her hand to greet Lucy. Her hands were wrinkled and the purple veins were very visible under her thin and transparent skin. 

“I’m Lu…”- and than the historian quickly reminded that real names weren’t allowed - “I’m Alice. Alice Johnson.”

“Oh, nice to meet you Alice. What a lovely name.” 

“Thank you.” 

“So, how long have you been here?” 

“10 hours, maybe. I lost track of time after the 4th hour.”

“Did you eat anything?”

“No. I’m not hungry”

“Little lady, you should eat something. Here, grab one of those.”

“I’m really not…”  
But before Lucy could protest Gail had took out of her purse a pink Tupperware filled with chocolate chip cookies. The smell was amazing and for the first time since all that mess started the historian realized her empty stomach and that she was starving.

“I insist. You shouldn’t stay that long without eating.”

“Thank you.” - Lucy grabbed one cookie and put it straight into her mouth. The soft and sweet taste hit her tongue as the dough melted. Blobs of chocolate exploding. The scent of the cookies overcoming the disinfectant and antiseptic. - “Oh my Gosh, this is the best cookie I’ve ever had.”

“Thanks sweetie. They are my Peter’s favorite, so I thought about making a batch for when he gets discharged.”

“Peter is your husband?”

“Yes. The love of my life.” 

Gail’s eyes glowed for a brief moment, as she mentioned her husband. 

“Well, I understand why he loves them so much. It’s really amazing.” 

“Please, have another.”

“I couldn’t. It’s for him and…”

“Not at all. I have another batch stored back home and I dare the doctor will let him eat one of those.”

“But…”

“I mean it. Help yourself with as many as you want.”

“Okay then, thank you.” 

Lucy picked another one, wishing for that taste to never go away. 

“No problem. I always brings him cookies, it makes him feel special even if he is not allowed to eat them. And makes me feel less angry with him for bringing me here again."

“Oh…hum… sorry if I’m intruding but…what happened?”

Lucy was so afraid to touch a delicate subject and end up with an elder woman crying on her shoulder. She didn’t have the guts to deal with it at the moment. She could barely handle herself. But as Gail started to giggle Lucy lost herself.

“Oh dear, not at all. My Peter it’s the type of man who didn’t realize his aging. He is 72 but acts like 27 and believes he still can do anything. Fixing linking pipes, shoving under his car to fix it’s engine, pruning the trees, you name it. I lost track of how many times I’ve been siting in those chairs.”

“But this time it was worst? I mean, this is a surgery waiting room.”

“Oh dear, like I said, I’ve been here before. Last year was a broken arm, after he fell from our roof when trying to put Christmas decorations. We had to celebrate here. Now he broke his hip after trying to clean the gutter. The doctor said it will be 3 months of rest and I know I’m gonna go crazy after the first week. Peter has never been the quiet type. “

"Don’t you get worried?” 

“I worry sick. But what can I do? I can’t tie him up in the bed and lock him in the house. It’s Peter’s way of being, always a young soul, since we first meet and, honestly, I would never want to change it. It was one of the reasons why I feel in love for him.”

“How long have you been married?”

“46 years. I was only 21 when we got married. We had 5 beautiful children and 17 grandchildren.” 

Lucy felt her lips curving up in a smile she didn’t see coming. It was amazing how love could last that long. How it was capable to create amazing things. 

“You seem to have a beautiful family.”  

“I certainly do. I’m grateful for many things Peter gave me, but my family was the greatest thing he has ever given to me.”

How? How that was possible? To have a family like Gail’s. In other timelines Lucy had a beautiful family, a mother who truly loved her and Amy, her sister. She had a perspective of building a family of her own but now, in this timeline, she barely had friends. Still, deep down, Lucy was sure she wanted to get married and have kids, she wanted the hole deal. If only things were simpler…

 “Anyways… I feel like we talked much about me and I know notting about you. So, tell me, any kids in your life?”

“No, not yet. But I’m really looking forward to be a mom someday.” 

“I bet you’re gonna be a good one.” 

“I don’t know…I’ve never been that good with kids.”

“That doesn’t mean you won’t be good with yours. You have love in your eyes for a kid you don’t even have yet. Trust in this old lady.”

“I will.”  
Lucy smiled and returned to her cookie, putting a thought over what Gail had just said. Maybe she was right. Lucy wanted to be a mom. Maybe two or three kids. Defiantly a baby boy and two girls. But that would mean a complete change in her life and, of course, a husband. 

Husband.

As the word crossed her mind she knew it was also at the tip of Abigail’s tongue. It was that thin line they were about to cross and Lucy hasn’t a clue on how to deal with. She could feel the tears coming at the back of her eyes by the simple thought of him. She had stopped crying a couple of hours ago but now, everything was coming back in a rush. 

“So, little lady, what brings you to this room?”

She couldn’t hold it back and before she realized fat tears were running down her cheeks, dripping on her blouse. 

“Oh child, what’s wrong? Come here.”

Gail put Lucy inside her arms and hold the historian tight. Like a mother does. Like her mother used to do before all that mess. Everything she needed.

“It’s m-my….h-he is….”- the sobs were coming hard and it was almost impossible for her to talk. It was like she was crying for the first time since all that mess began. Not only Wyatt being shot but everything, from the moment she received his phone call, telling her that Jessica was back until that moment. 

“Hey. It’s okay…take a deep breath. Like this.”

Gail started to breath in and out and Lucy mimicked her, until she felt the rush passing and the words returning for a brief moment.

“Better?"

Lucy nodded.

“So, is he…?”

“He …is my husband…kind of…I…. “- the whole situation was so complicated she didn’t even know how to start explaining - "Wy-…sorry. Hum, Mike, he …it’s complicated. But… he’s my husband and he is under heart surgery and …when we got here he was so so bad and I was desperate, and it’s been almost 5 hours since I received any update on the surgery, and we… we weren’t in the best of sheets, we had fought and I was avoiding him and I…”- The tears returned, making her unable to speak again.

She knew the size of the lie she was telling. It was unfair to Gail, but the truth could put both in danger.   
Maybe Lucy was crying too much for someone who is “only” under heart surgery. Could be just as scary to have your heart repaired or your abdomen fixed but Lucy knew that, where Wyatt was, he had minimum chances in make it.  

Lucy though that Gail wouldn’t keep up with her story and that, certainly, a judgment would come out of her mouth but, instead, the lady smiled and stroke the historian’s hair. 

“Well, I’m sure the doctors are doing the best they can. I know your Mike is in good hands.” 

Lucy gave a small smile, feeling that she could control, at least, her breath again. It was a beginning. 

“Pardon me if I’m intruding too much, but why do you say it’s complicated?”

How Lucy would explain? How to put in words. She couldn’t say a thing about their real identities neither their real life and certainly she didn’t own any explanations to a complete stranger but, as she looked into Gail’s eyes and found in there total empath she couldn’t stop but began to babble. She had discovered in that woman a mother she was absent of for too long. Besides, it was Lucy, she couldn’t stop talking while under pressure. 

“Well, hum, Mike…he was married once, to a girl named Laura (no real names allowed, even the enemies one). He really loved her but their marriage wasn’t going that well. One night she disappeared and the police reported her dead a few weeks later. During almost 6 years Mike blamed himself for her death. Meanwhile we met at…hum… work and got closer. Somehow he fell for me and so did I for him and we… we got married” 

Again the word married came out of her mouth, so naturally, that made her heart skip a bit. It was too natural, in a way that shouldn’t. She wasn’t really married to Wyatt but it felt so right saying it that almost made Lucy believe it was true. But after seconds she realized it was not so she returned to her story. 

“Everything was perfect until we discovered that Laura was, in fact, alive. She had been kidnaped at a night she and Mike had fought in the car. She asked him to pull over, on the road. He did and expected her to return home after a few minutes, since their house wasn’t that far from where she stayed, but that never happened. Laura escaped from her captor without a harm and had been living under a different name, in another city since then. Wy- Mike, he… is the type of guy who keeps his promises, and he promised to be with her until death take them apart so, he decided to go check on  her, make sure it was really her, and things just messed up, and I just couldn’t handle with all that.”

Lucy felt the anger rushing to her throat, her grip tighten more at the chair’s arm. As she spoke the rage from all those days she felt betrayed retuned, making her ears turn read and a red flush appear on her cheeks.  

“He abandoned me! HE LEFT ME! And I hated him for that. So so much. We were still seeing each other due our jobs but I pushed him away, as much as I could. He got back together with Laura but turned out she was … you can say… different, involved in wrong things and not in love with him anymore. She walked away again and I saw him waste in his own guilt. We stoped talking and I was just glad for him suffering until he …”- was shot, she thought, but could never say out loud - “His heart stoped and now I…I don’t know what’s gonna happen. He can die…and I hate him so much for everything he made me pass trough but I love him too much to not care.”

She was breathless after her little monologue. The salty taste from her tears were mixed with the fresh sweet taste cookies. She could tell her eyes were visibly red and she probably was looking like a madwoman but, man! it was good to get all that out of her chest. She was prepared to any words Abigail would spill out, judgements or not. She could handle. Well, at least she thought she could. However, she found an Abigail grinning at her, sparkles in her eyes. In that moment Lucy knew she was about to be blown away. 

“Well sweetie, can I tell you a story?"

“Sure.”


	3. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here you have the chap 3! Hope you all enjoy it! xoxoxoxo

“I got married very young. 19, to my father’s best friend son, Lucas. I knew him my entire life and we weren’t the best of friends but what could I do? Back then I hadn’t much of a voice in any decisions. I always knew my marriage would be arranged. My father had many lands and farms around the South and having his daughter married to one of his partners would only benefit his deals. At least, I didn’t hate Lucas so, I agreed.”

How things had changed and yet not. Lucy had traveled through times and still, things like arranged marriages and unions aiming benefits were still a reality.

“We were married for almost 3 years when his convocation arrived. Vietnam War. The next morning he was gone and I was left alone in a city 3.000 miles from my parent’s home, with only a few friends in town to help me. I got a job to maintain the house and distract myself from the possibilities but, as soon as he was gone a letter came. He was killed in field. Suddenly I was a 21 years old widow, with no money, burring an empty coffin because the body was never found. Struggling, I found some stability after 1 year and, met Peter. He always says that, when he laid his eyes on me, he couldn’t stop thinking about the blond from the hotel’s reception. It didn’t take long for me to fall for him too and, before we could realize , we were married and happy as we could be. Life seemed to get back on it’s tracks until someone knocked at my door, on a sunny Sunday, after 2 years of his funeral. Lucas, with his old soldier uniform in his suitcase, wedding band on his left hand. He went missing in one of the battles and when the War ended he had troubles coming home.” 

Lucy’s eyes had grown bigger than ever. She was drowning in Gail’s story, momentary forgetting about her Wyatt laid down on a metal table. Stories always had that effect on her and, somehow, Abigail’s story was beginning to sound familiar to her. 

“What did you do? I mean…that was so…”

“Complicated? Yes. Suddenly I saw myself in a hole I couldn’t get out off. Like your Mike I had made a promise, not only to Lucas but to his entire family and mine too. I was still married and he was there. I couldn’t just walk away and tell him I moved away. My father’s business was depending on that. After he supposedly died things started to crumble, the deals decreased and so did the money. His return meant a lurch in the market so, I left Peter and got back with Lucas.”  
There it was a twist in the plot Lucy didn’t see coming. The similarities, the pain, the love, the deception. Change the year and the names and you kind of have Lucy’s own story being told. Her realization of this fact allowed her to start searching for something that could help her to understand Wyatt’s side of the story, after all he was totally a male version of Gail, at least in the tale. 

“It was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. How Peter hated me, I could see in his eyes. Countless times I found him drunk, in the middle of the night, standing at my door, begging for us to get back. I didn’t know what to do. I had beliefs, even not loving Lucas and knowing he didn’t love me back I …I was young and immature and was totally lost. Peter and I grew apart. I started to blame myself for letting him go away. I loved him. It was my fault. Then, a couple of months later Lucas understood we would never work together, I was in love with someone else, it was clear, so he left me. He told our parents his decision and despaired. I tried to track him down a few times after, found out he got married to a old colleague but it was all. I was free but alone. In my head I was certain that there was no way that Peter would ever forgive me. He had too much hate inside for that. I was astonished when he appeared at my door after he heard about my divorce and helped me put the pieces back together, helped me fix the mess I made and, most important, helped me forgive myself."

Gail had put her heart out and Lucy was, at least, shocked. Her mouth was dropped in surprise as she thought that, of all the places, it was never in a hospital’s waiting room chair that she would hear her story being told by someone else. The lady smiled at Lucy and hold her hands tight, her stare crossing the historian’s soul.

“Alice, I can’t tell you what to do, neither can intrude myself in your life but, if I can give you one advice is: don’t let hate overcome your heart. Believe me dear, you love him more than you realize and, if he pushed you away as well is because he didn’t know what to do. Your Mike is much like me, I get what he has been through and the hardest part will be for him to forgiving himself. Help him. Because I know he will feel like he doesn’t deserve you, that he will never be good enough for you and, if he let that happen, he will be wrapped up in his guilt, will drown in a hole he won’t be able to get out of."

Lucy nodded in agreement. She kept quiet for a while, letting the words sink, allowing her brain to process all that. Gail gave her the space, keeping the silence Lucy needed to understand all her words. 

What had just happened? How a complete stranger could know so much about her life and still know nothing at all? Abigail hadn’t a clue she was talking to someone who actually spoke to president Lincoln, or who was on a mission with Ian Flaming. Still, that woman described the entire sequence of Lucy’s life, and more important, she brought a perspective of the other hand of the story.

Sure Gail’s words didn’t take the blame out of  Wyatt’s shoulder or made Lucy innocent in this whole story but it caught her attention to something she wasn’t seeing. That Wyatt, much alike Abigail, was loyal, not only to his job and to the people he spends time with or shares his life, but also to his promises. He was also totally lost, without a clue on what to do. Sure he may had chosen the wrong path but Lucy didn’t make anything to help.  
Instead of sitting with him and set things right she let him walk away, without saying what was stuck in her heart for so long. She let him go, she pushed him away, and that was on her. 

After a few minutes a nurse called for Abigail West. The lady got up from her seat, grabbing her purse and the Tupperware containing the cookies. Lucy got up too, smiling to the lady. 

“So, I gotta go. The duty calls me. I’m sorry if I intrude…”

Before she could end Lucy passed her arms around her, hugging the woman, feeling the warmth of a mother’s embrace. Gratitude was the only thing she could feel.

“Thank you Gail, for everything.”

“Oh child, no problem. I was glad I could help somehow.”

“You have no idea how special you’ve become to me.”

“I saw a suffering friend and I couldn’t let you without assuring you that there is hope. Alice, I know he loves you and I see in your eyes you love him. Work this out. It’s worth it.”

“I promise. And, please, tell Peter that if he doesn’t stop risking himself I will, personally, go and will tie him in his bed.”

“Okay, I will let him know.”

“Thank you, again.” 

“Sure. I hope we get to meet out of here child, somewhere sunny and less white."

“Do you have a pen?” 

“Yes.”

Gail opened her colorful purse, searching for a pen she found at the bottom, under a bag of tissue papers and candies she probably has to offer to her grandchildren whenever they come to visit her.

“Here.” 

Lucy ripped a piece of paper from one of the magazines set in a small coffee table beside the row of chairs and wrote her phone number on it. It was a burner, that would probably despair after she was back to the bunker but it would be enough for her to have Gail’s number saved. She handed the paper to her new friend with a smile and a hope for a future meeting. Well, she couldn’t leave the bunker, and this meeting would have to happened long after they destroy Rittenhouse, how long would that be? But hope was something Lucy hadn’t had in a while and, gladly, Gail had restored it so, why not try?

“Call me, if you want of course. We can go out for a desert or something.”

“Of course sweetie. Of course. Thank you.”

With a last hug and a wave Gail disappeared trough a pair of white doors, along with the doctor who had called for her and was the one in charge of Peter’s care. 

Lucy let herself fall back into the chairs again, her mind in a race. 

Forgive.

It was the key.

Her old version had took her aside while she was in their timeline, right before they leave to save Rufus. She couldn’t say much but one thing she had advised her young version was: forgive him, help him forgive himself, trust me, it’s worth it.

For a long while Lucy had decided to ignore it. She was too hurt and too angry to listen to that silly advise, even after had it stuck at the back of her mind, with it’s words on repeat every single time she had her eyes on Wyatt. Then, without warning, this friendly lady appears, with some story strangely similar to hers and an advise Lucy had heard before.

Maybe it was time to her start listening.

She would have a long journey ahead, a tough one. But so Wyatt. 

Wyatt.

Suddenly she was back to her reality, where he was still in a metal table, she was still without any news from him. Back in the withe place with agents supervising her, with his stolen hoodie and a giant and aching hole in her heart. With fear impregnated in her bones and a urge to scream stuck in her throat. 

Wyatt’s pale skin and lost eyes crossed her mind again, but she quickly vanished it and started to remember the most remarkable moments of American History, a trick she had developed to calm herself over the year, mostly after they started to time travel and she had to update herself with the new events she and her friend were creating. 

Almost an hour later, after she had processed most of Abigail’s words, after she made a decision, after she had put a long thought on every single moment of her and Wyatt’s lives in the last 5 months, a man in blue clothes, still with his scrub cap came in her direction. His tired appearance and plain expression gave Lucy goosebumps, but not the good ones.

“Mrs. Johnson, we have news from your husband.”


End file.
